March 2024

E-Verify to Pilot ‘Next Generation’ Service in Spring 2024

E-Verify announced on February 22, 2024, that it will launch its “next generation” service, E-Verify+, as a pilot in spring 2024. E-Verify said the “plus” in E-Verify+ represents benefits the new service will provide to employers and employees, including “added efficiency” for employers and “more control over their personal information” for employees.

E-Verify+ will include streamlining Form I-9 and the employment eligibility verification process. Feedback will be sought as part of the pilot process. Updates will be posted on E-Verify.gov.

Details:

• E-Verify notice (Feb. 22, 2024).

DOS Signs MOU With Germany on Exchange Visitor Program

The Department of State (DOS) announced on February 20, 2024, that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Federal Republic of Germany. The MOU waives certain regulatory provisions to establish an exchange of German principals to secondary schools overseen and financed by the government of Germany in the United States.

Exchange visitors under the MOU are “experts in a field with specialized knowledge or skills. Program participants are required to be German citizens, hold a valid German passport, and have teaching certification for the secondary level or an advanced degree equivalent to a Master’s degree in school administration or a similar field. Program participants are selected by the Federal German Foreign Office and its subordinate authority, the Central Agency for Schools Abroad. Participants are placed as principals in German schools in the United States that are recognized and overseen by the Federal Foreign Office,” the notice states.

DOS noted that a foreign national is eligible to participate in an exchange visitor program as a specialist if that individual does not fill a permanent or long-term position of employment while in the United States.

Details:

• DOS notice, 89 Fed. Reg. 12937 (Feb. 20, 2024).

Reminder: Premium Processing Fees Will Increase February 26

The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers is reminding its clients that fees for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, will increase on February 26, 2024. The table below summarizes the increases by type of petition.

Details:

• USCIS alert (Dec. 27, 2023).

Mayorkas Impeached; Conviction in Senate Seems Unlikely

After a previous failed attempt to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on February 6, 2024, Republicans in the House of Representatives succeeded in impeaching Mr. Mayorkas on February 13 with a vote of 214-213. Republicans accused Mr. Mayorkas of failing to maintain operational control of the border, among other things.

The Senate will next consider the articles of impeachment after February 26, 2024, when they return. The Senate has a variety of options, including voting to dismiss, acquit, or convict Mr. Mayorkas, among other things. Conviction, which would require a two-thirds majority vote, is considered highly unlikely. A vote to dismiss, by contrast, would need just a simple majority. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said the impeachment effort would be “dead on arrival” in the Senate.

Reaction from immigration advocates was sharp. American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Executive Director Ben Johnson called the impeachment effort “politically motivated.” He said, “The accusations that Secretary Mayorkas breached ‘public trust’ continue to ring hollow given he was implementing policy as Cabinet Secretaries have done throughout American history,” and “[w]eaponizing the impeachment process is both unconstitutional and dangerous for the future of a functioning government.” Jeremy Robbins, executive director of the American Immigration Council, said, “All this political grandstanding around Mayorkas does absolutely nothing to address our challenges at the border.”

Details:

• Senate Looks to Quickly Reject Mayorkas Impeachment Charges in Speedy Trial, New York Times, Feb. 14, 2024.
• Articles of impeachment and related press releases.
• Mayorkas Impeachment Letter, Constitutional Law Experts on the Impeachment Proceedings Against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Jan. 10, 2024.
• House Republicans Vote to Impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary, American Immigration Lawyers Association and American Immigration Council (joint press release) (Feb. 14, 2024).

ETA Extends Comment Period for Responses to PERM Schedule A Request for Information

The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has extended the comment period for responses to its PERM Schedule A Request for Information (RFI). ETA said it has received “a very limited number of comments, only a few of which have responded to the questions posed in the RFI.” The public comment period was set to conclude on February 20, 2024, but has been extended to May 13, 2024.

As background, on December 21, 2023, ETA published the RFI, soliciting public input on potential revisions to Schedule A of the permanent labor certification process to include occupations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including artificial intelligence-related occupations and non-STEM occupations, for which there may be an insufficient number of ready, willing, able, and qualified U.S. workers.

Details:

• Employment and Training Administration Extends Comment Period for Stakeholders to Respond to PERM Schedule A Request for Information (Feb. 15, 2024).

CIS Ombudsman Releases Tips on How to Avoid Getting Locked Out of Your USCIS Account

On February 14, 2024, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman released a tip sheet on how people with individual U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) online accounts can maintain access and avoid getting locked out of their accounts.

The tips include how to create a strong password, the importance of logging in regularly to maintain access (the tip sheet suggests “once a month or once every few months”), what to do when locked out, how to reset a password, security considerations, and how USCIS’s Technical Help Desk works to assist with account access.

Details:

• New Tip Sheet on How to Avoid Getting Locked Out of Your USCIS Account, Department of Homeland Security (Feb. 14, 2024).
• Tip sheet (PDF) (DHS) (Feb. 14, 2024).

USCIS Releases FY 2023 Data and Highlights of FY 2024 Plans

On February 9, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released end-of-fiscal-year (FY) 2023 data. Below are selected highlights of the data and USCIS’s plans for FY 2024:

FY 2023 Backlog Reductions

• USCIS received 10.9 million filings and completed more than 10 million pending cases, both of which it called “record-breaking numbers.” In doing so, USCIS said it reduced overall backlogs by 15%, including “effectively eliminating the backlog of naturalization applications.” The median processing time for naturalization applicants also decreased from 10.5 months to 6.1 months by the end of the fiscal year.

FY 2023 Actions Affecting Workers and Employers

• USCIS and the Department of State issued more than 192,000 employment-based immigrant visas and, for the second year running, ensured that no available visas went unused, USCIS said. The agency increased the maximum validity period of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to five years for adjustment of status applicants. USCIS said it clarified eligibility for a range of immigration services, including the International Entrepreneur Rule, the EB-1 immigrant visa for individuals of extraordinary ability and outstanding professors and researchers, and the waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement for J-1 cultural and educational exchange visitors (including foreign medical graduates). The agency also proposed a new rule “to strengthen worker protections and the integrity of the H-2 temporary worker program.”
• USCIS removed the biometrics fee and appointment requirement for applicants for a change or extension of nonimmigrant status and updated the agency’s interpretation of the Child Status Protection Act to prevent many child beneficiaries of noncitizen workers from “aging out” of child status, allowing them to seek permanent residence along with their parents.

FY 2024 Plans

In FY 2024, USCIS plans to:

• Work to maintain median processing times of 30 days for certain EAD applications filed by individuals who entered the United States after scheduling an appointment through the CBP One mobile application or the CHNV processes.
• Continue to update policy guidance for the EB-5 investor visa program, incorporating statutory reforms to the Regional Center Program as they relate to regional center designation and other requirements for immigrant investors.
• Continue to update policy guidance for student classifications, including eligibility for employment authorization, change of status, extension of stay, and reinstatement of status for F and M students and their dependents in the United States.
• Finalize a new rule on the H-1B program for specialty occupation workers.
• Propose a new rule on the adjustment of status process, including regulations clarifying the age calculation under the Child Status Protection Act and providing employment authorization for certain derivative beneficiaries awaiting immigrant visa availability when they present compelling circumstances.

Details:

• USCIS news release (Feb. 9, 2024).

EOIR to Transition to DOJ Login

On February 9, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced new procedures for accessing the EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS) Case Portal. EOIR is transitioning to “DOJ Login,” a cloud-based identity management and authentication service. To facilitate this change, users must confirm or correct their primary email address, which will serve as their DOJ Login ID.

All currently registered practitioners will be migrated to DOJ Login ID to access the ECAS Case Portal, EOIR said. EOIR is implementing a phased migration that it expects to complete this spring. EOIR said it has developed detailed instructions for this phased transition and will notify users by email when it is time for them to activate their new DOJ Login ID.

Those who have questions or need assistance can email customer support at ECAS.techsupport@usdoj.gov or call 1-877-388-3842.

Details:

• EOIR notice (Feb. 9, 2024).

USCIS Issues Final Rule With New Filing Fees

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule, effective April 1, 2024, to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. The final rule includes fee increases for various categories, such as:

• I-129 H-1B (named beneficiaries), from $460 to $1,080
• I-129 H-1B (named beneficiaries, small employers, and nonprofits), from $460 to $540
• I-129 L Nonimmigrant Workers, from $460 to $1,385
• I-129 L Nonimmigrant Workers (small employers and nonprofits), from $460 to $695
• I-526/526E Immigrant Petition by Standalone Regional Center, from $3,675 to $11,160

Among other things, the final rule also:

• Imposes a new Asylum Program Fee to be paid by employers who file either a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Form I-129CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker, or Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. The fee will be $0 for nonprofits; $300 for small employers (defined as firms or individuals having 25 or fewer full-time employees); and $600 for all other filers of Forms I-129 and I-140.
• Allows for half-price Employment Authorization Document applications for adjustment of status applicants and a reduced fee for adjustment of status applicants under the age of 14 in certain situations; and
• Implements a standard $50 discount for most online filers. The discount does not apply “in limited circumstances, such as when the form fee is already provided at a substantial discount or USCIS is prohibited by law from charging a full cost recovery level fee.”

Details:

• Klasko Immigration Law Partners Blog, USCIS Issues Final Rule to Increase Fees and Release New Forms, (Feb. 15, 2024).
• USCIS final rule, 89 Fed. Reg. 6194 (Jan. 31, 2024).
• USCIS FAQ on fee rule (Jan. 31, 2024). The FAQ includes a full list of the revised forms effective April 1, 2024, along with the new fees. USCIS said it will accept prior editions of most forms during a grace period from April 1, 2024, through June 3, 2024. During the grace period, USCIS will accept both previous and new editions of certain forms, filed with the correct fee.

Klasko News

FIRM NEWS

2024 Klasko Webinar: Exploring Immigration Pathways for AI & “Emerging Technologies” Experts: Impact of the Biden Administration EO
Join Klasko attorneys Tim D’Arduini, Allie Dempsey, and Nick Lowrey on March 20^th as they dive into the transformative implications of the Executive Order (EO) on Artificial Intelligence for immigration. Register here!

2024 Klasko’s Spring Seminar for Universities and Healthcare Institutions
Save the Date: April 30, 2024! Klasko will be hosting a spring seminar for universities and healthcare institutions. Program coming soon!

IN THE NEWS

Romina Gomez
Law.com published senior associate Romina Gomez’s article Combating Physician Shortages with Immigration Legislation.

RECENT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

William Stock
On February 8^th, Bill Stock spoke at the 45^th Annual AILA South Florida Immigration Law Update on a panel entitled Thinking Outside of the Box: Strategies in Business Immigration.

H. Ronald Klasko
On February 8^th, Ron Klasko spoke at the 45^th Annual AILA South Florida Immigration Law Update on a panel entitled Complex Issues for Investors, Entrepreneurs, and New Offices Executives and Managers.

H. Ronald Klasko
On February 16^th, Ron Klasko spoke in this LCR Capitals Partners webinar event titled Understanding EB-5 Project Filings: How an Expedited I-956F Impacts Investors.

UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Andrew Zeltner
Drew Zeltner will be presenting to Princeton University to discuss visa options beyond OPT.

Tim D’Arduini | Allie Dempsey | Nick Lowrey
On March 20^th, Tim, Allie, and Nick will dive into the transformative implications of the Executive Order (EO) on Artificial Intelligence for immigration. Register here!

Elise Fialkowski
On March 29^th, Elise Fialkowski will be speaking at the 21st Washington International Education Conference.

ICYMI: RECENT BLOG POSTS AND ALERTS

USCIS Issues Final Rule to Increase Fees and Release New Forms
In this client alert, Candace Hill covered the final rule published by DHS that modified the USCIS fee schedule and addressed the release of new forms editions.

Klasko Immigration Law Partners Welcomes Counsel Nick Lowrey
In this press release, Klasko Immigration Law Partners welcomes Nick Lowrey as Counsel at the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

Combating Physician Shortages with Immigration Legislation
In this article, Romina Gomez covers proposed bills introduced in an effort to address nationwide physician shortages.

Senate’s New Border Bill Proposes Some Relief for Employment Based Immigrants But Unlikely to Become Law
In this blog, Ari Ratush covers a national security and foreign bill proposed by the Senate.

FIRM FEATURE

This Valentine’s Day, Klasko employees participated in a speed friending event! For an hour, participants video chatted with a rotation of their peers and switch every 5 minutes.

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This newsletter was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Klasko Immigration Law Partners is an active member.